If we come, they'd better build it . . .
This weekend we get to stay with Alex Zabala and his wife in Arizona. Alex is the author of Treasure of the Mayan King. Joel worked with Alex on his book and we’ve been friends with him for about 25 years. This is a photo I took at their house.
Tonight we’ll be making our usual Saturday pizza for Alex and his family. We appreciate their hospitality and it’s great to be able to visit and catch up with them.
If you’d like to learn more about Alex and his books, visit his website, Arcani Arts.
Months of working frantically to write six books simulataneously with two different co-authors culminated in celebration on 11/11/11.
Rick Wilson and his wife and younger daughter, Shanna Mann and her friends (including Debs from New York), and our family gathered at London Grill in Philadelphia to celebrate getting six books published in six months. Rick and Joel co-authored Hits or Niches: Why Marketing is Boring, Obnoxious & Annoying, & What You Can Do About It. Shanna and Joel co-authored Why We Lead: Conversations on the Scarcity of Confidence and the Nature of Leadership. Joel’s other four books just released are:
Through the Fog – An Irish Mystery Novel (fiction)
Permission Granted: Create Something Remarkable. Start Now.
The Time is Now 11:59 – Heretical Thinking for Tomorrow’s Business
Getting Your Book Out of the Someday Box – Because You Know You Want to Write a Book
Joining us were fans from the area and New York. Thank you to all who joined us in celebration, including:
Thank you to Ryan and the crew at London Grill for your great service and hospitality! We enjoyed a nice dinner, fun drinks and interesting desserts.
For all you bacon lovers, Joel enjoyed the Candied Bacon Ice Cream on your behalf!
Books were autographed for anyone in attendance and those who pre-ordered. We’ll be shipping books out to those who couldn’t make it in person.
On display as well were copies of client’s books that Someday Box had a hand in helping finish. Fred’s Abduction by author Pegleg Terry is a favorite of Fiona’s.
To all of you who wanted to come and just couldn’t make it, we missed you! If you’d still like to get an autographed copy of one or all of the books, send us an email using our contact form and we’ll see what we can arrange.
It’s been heads down so we can gear up for the big book release party November 11, 2011 in Philadelphia. The venue has been confirmed. Everyone in the area is invited to join us!
When:
Friday, November 11, 2011
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Where:
London Grill
2301 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
A year ago I wrote about the beginnings of our adventure. Then I wasn’t sure exactly where we’d be in a year or if we’d even decide to leave behind a home and travel. I did know I wanted to do something different.
So we packed up, drove up to Vancouver and spent a glorious three weeks there. The trip made me realize the need for big change in our lives. I had gotten into a rut and the daily grind of getting up and sitting in our dark little home office wouldn’t cut it anymore. I needed to be outside, feeling the sun shine on my face, the wind blowing through my hair. I needed to spend time teaching Fiona about the great big outdoors.
It’s great to be able to go anywhere we want and to maintain our work and keep our clients happy. When our official “one year without a home” time comes at the end of September, I’ll write even more about all this has meant and how I feel. For today I want to thank all the wonderful clients we have who have worked with us even when we are so far apart. Below is just one testimonial from a satisfied client:
“I have been truly amazed that with all of Sue’s travels, I haven’t experienced any interruptions in service whatsoever. She has consistently delivered her services to the same great level I’ve come to expect, all since becoming a road warrior! I’m not sure I’d be so resilient, but she and Joel really know how to operate mobile businesses. Well done!” ~ Stephanie Chandler, Author, Speaker, Publisher,
P.S. Stephanie later emailed to say, “It really is remarkable how you’ve managed to go mobile with your businesses. That should be your next book!!” Guess we’ve got more work to do and another book to publish! :)
Joel is an author. He writes business books, songs and now his first fiction book – an Irish mystery. It’s called Through the Fog and is about an amnesiac who ends up in Ireland. You can read an excerpt from it at Joel’s website.
To celebrate the release of the book this month, and the release of another business book called The Time is Now 11:59 – Heretical Thoughts for Tomorrow’s Business, I’m hosting a virtual party this weekend, Friday through Sunday, on Facebook. Stop by and leave a comment for Joel.
I want this to be fun. Friday we’re going to do a Mexican theme – put on your sombreros and eat chips and salsa. Saturday will be our Irish day – open up the Guinness and have some fish and chips. Sunday – let’s do a BBQ!
We’re settling in at the Wilson’s here in Arizona. We’ve been here a week now and have six more to go. And we’re loving it! Right now I’m sitting outside listening to the waterfall running into the pool and Fiona’s enjoying some outdoor time in the sun.
We’ve known the Wilson’s for seven year. We met when they still lived in Roseville California. Terry and Joel both play bass and enjoy music – a lot! It’s like being with family here. Fiona has her own room and she loves Virgie. Joel has his musical instruments in Terry’s music room. I’m loving the sunshine. Fiona was able to check out books from the local library and we’ve located a nearby park where Fiona played last night.
And business continues. Joel’s working with Terry on his second children’s book and he just placed the order for Jessi Lohman’s proof copy of her upcoming book. Other prospects are contacting Joel as well to help get their book out of their ‘someday’ box.
I’ve also contacted some local virtual assistants and am planning an informal meetup soon. And we were just contacted by another community college in Illinois about possibly using our materials in a class for virtual workers.
So things are moving forward and we’re excited to be in a great home with great friends and in a routine for a bit. Knowing that we’ll get itchy feet to move on in a couple of weeks, we’re planning a long day’s drive to deal with that. But it will be nice for Joel to be in one place with his music stuff all set up since February is FAWM.
Ideally we hope for a similar situation in April. Some place we can park for anywhere from two to eight weeks house sitting. Maybe somewhere in the south.
Anyone need a house sitter in April? We’ve got references!
Thank you Terry and Virgie for making us feel so welcome in your home. We are looking forward to coming back in January/February and spending more time with you both. Joel will enjoy helping Terry work on his next book as well.
Fiona will enjoy the cookies on the road today!
Oh, you know there’s gonna be a book. I’ll be posting pre-order forms for the book/DVD/set but clearly, you’ll want something now! now! now! and not just a book and DVD a year from now.
I’ll be shooting endless reels of film (yeah, I know it’s not reels, nor is it film; work with me here) over the coming year of experimentation. While I’ll be posting bits and pieces, odds and ends, the reel stuff (ha!) as far as longer videos will be supported by and available to our sponsors. Which, y’know, means you.